Theddlethorpe

Theddlethorpe St Helen and Theddlethorpe All Saints

Theddlethorpe Village sign on Thacker Bank

Village

Theddlethorpe village is a dispersed settlement which comprises two historic parishes, Theddlethorpe All Saints in the north-west and Theddlethorpe St Helen in the south-east. The village is bordered to the east by the coast; the coastal strip, with its very wide beach is included in the Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe Dunes National Nature Reserve. The village has ancient origins, being mentioned in the Doomsday book, completed in August 1086, with the rather uninspiring entry: "Te(d)lagestorp: Count Alan; Earl Hugh; Alfred of Lincoln; Chetelbern from the king. 20 salt-pans (with Calceby, etc.)."

Cattle at Theddlethorpe

Economy

Theddlethorpe has a varied rural economy. Wheat, barley and oilseed rape are grown extensively but also cattle, sheep and chickens are farmed. The land is essentially marshland and agricultural land that has been recovered from the marshes over many centuries. Drainage is an important issue and water courses are used to maintain an acceptable water table.

Theddlethorpe Beach

There is a significant interest in re-establishing grazing marshes and in encouraging a form of pastoral farming that provides a habitat for ecological diversity with viable arable and livestock farming. Some ancient ‘ridge and furrow’ style fields remain in the village.

There are no shops and currently a single pub, the Kings Head, which is at the south end of Theddlethorpe St Helen. Properties are a mixture of ancient farm-houses and modern bungalows. The largest cluster of housing being close to St Helen’s church.

Offshore winds cause unusually large waves on Theddlethorpe Beach

Location

Theddlethorpe St Helen lies just four miles north of Mablethorpe and between the two is the Theddlethorpe Gas Terminal, which processes incoming natural gas from the North Sea.

Detailed historical information for the village is available on the Theddlethorpe Parish Council site and is not reproduced here.

Theddlethorpe Aerial Views

Helicopter at Theddlethorpe

Helicopter

On Saturday 2 July 2011, helicopter rides were available from Mablethorpe Road in Theddlethorpe. Most of the previous flights had been over Mablethorpe but we asked the pilot to fly over Theddlethorpe instead. We flew over Theddlethorpe St Helen, out to the beach and then back alongside the gas terminal.

Theddlethorpe South West - Aerial View. In the foreground is the junction of Rotten Row and Highgate Close, with the beach and sea in the distance.

Theddlethorpe Beach - Aerial View - showing the end of the Brickyard Lane path to the beach opening up to a broad expanse of sand.

Theddlethorpe Surf. Waves break over the shallow sand bars. The tide rarely comes high enough to cover the entire beach - this is only when high tide approaches 8m above chart datum and this only occurs on a couple of occasions each year.

Mablethorpe from Theddlethorpe

Theddlethorpe South - Aerial View to the north showing Mablethorpe Road to the left and Crook Bank to the right in the foreground. The centre of Theddlethorpe St Helen is in the middle of the view with Sea Lane and Brickyard Lane leading towards the sea.